On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, Jo Mannies reunites with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum for a special edition of the show featuring former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.
Blunt served as the state’s chief executive from 2005 to 2009. He was the first Republican governor to serve with a GOP-controlled General Assembly in modern history.
Blunt was a third-generation elected official. His father is U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, who also served as congressman, secretary of state and Greene County clerk. His late grandfather, Leroy Blunt, was a state legislator representing part of southwest Missouri.
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993, Blunt embarked on a career in the Navy that lasted for 14 years. He served for six months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during his tenure as secretary of state, which made him the first statewide official in Missouri history to be called in for military service.
Blunt served as a state representative for one term before being elected secretary of state in 2000. Blunt then won a closely contested race for governor in 2004 against then-Auditor Claire McCaskill.
The year 2018 was a record one for organ transplants in the U.S., with more than 36,000 people receiving new organs. But there is still great need for more donors: About 8,000 people die each year because the organs they need are not donated in time. Diane Brockmeier, president and CEO of Mid-America Transplant, and Dr. Will Chapman, chief of transplant surgery at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, discuss some of the latest advancements and answer questions about becoming a donor.
Leonard Slatkin discusses his return to St. Louis ahead of a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of his debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Our monthly Legal Roundtable got underway as St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jonathan Ahl delved into a variety of recent local and national stories pertaining to the law with Bill Freivogel, journalism professor at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Mark Smith, associate vice chancellor of students at Washington University, Marie Kenyon, director of the Peace and Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Rep. Bruce Franks returns for his third appearance on Politically Speaking, where the St. Louis Democrat talked about how he’s been faring during his third year in the Missouri House.
Franks first burst on the Missouri political scene in 2016, when he defeated (after a high-profile redo election) incumbent Penny Hubbard. He was elected to another term last year without opposition, getting another two years to represent a part of eastern St. Louis.
After a first term that saw a decent amount of success for a Democrat in the super minority, Franks said that he’s had a more frustrating 2019 session. For one thing, his effort to get more money for summer jobs programs in the state budget faltered. That comes amid increasing scrutiny of SLATE, a St. Louis agency that helps connect people with jobs.
Ever been dumped in an ice cream shop? Writer and artist Kayla “KVtheWriter” Thompson has, and she can assure the uninitiated that it’s not sweet. Did the experience ruin ice cream for her? Sure. But it also became the basis of her upcoming EP titled “Love Sucks!” St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin talks with Thompson about her curation of written, visual and aural depictions of her journey through love and loss.
St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones joins St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin to discuss her plans to reevaluate the banks that are approved to handle the city's money, her opposition to Better Together, and more.
This behind-the-headlines segment focuses on a new report about how syphilis is invading rural Missouri and a fraying health safety net is failing to stop it.
The welfare of all sorts of insects has been garnering attention of late, with some disconcerting headlines about declining insect populations. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin talks with Webster University biologist Nicole Miller-Struttmann to learn more about what is happening and how humans can help bees and other insects thrive.
Millennials, who are set to outnumber baby boomers sometime this year, are members of a generation often dubbed as lazy, oversensitive and entitled. But are they really? Or are they just misunderstood and maligned?
Eric Goedereis, associate professor of psychology at Webster University and academic director of Webster’s gerontology program; Kendra Elaine, a millennial leadership expert and diversity coach; and Steph Kukuljan, a St. Louis Business Journal reporter, discuss the millennial generation, their experiences, misconceptions about them and more.
The flames that engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday have people around the world thinking about the importance of cultural preservation and fire safety as well as the fragility of cherished landmarks. St. Louis Public Radio's Jeremy D. Goodwin explores how those topics have informed local efforts associated with protecting historic buildings and St. Louis’ cultural heritage.
Ricky Riccardi – author of “What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years” – sits down with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin to discuss the importance and impact of Armstrong’s early career.
Listening to: the thread of a tale, voice music, history, mystery, action conveyed through words direct into heart and ears, eyes and mind. Teller and Audience merge in the story exchange.
The St. Louis Storytelling Festival is the largest free storytelling festival in the world. Celebrating its 40th year, for all ages of humankind, the alchemy of this event strikes sparks around our Big River town. Tellers of international to local renown will take their tales to public and special venues April 25 - May 4, 2019.
Current and former festival directors Lisa Overholser and Nan Kammann-Judd bring their love of this interaction to the Earthworms studio - and the festival brings a night of Irish tales to The Stage at KDHX on Tuesday, April 30.
Throughout time, people have preserved their culture, values, and beliefs through storytelling. Giving voice to the human experience, storytelling allows families and communities to pass on their history to succeeding generations, and it remains an evolving, dynamic art form.
Music: Butter II, performed live at KDHX by Ian Ethan Case Thanks to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Green-savvy audio engineer
Jen Hobbs' just-released book is titled “American Hemp: How Growing Our Newest Cash Crop Can Improve Our Health, Clean Our Environment, And Slow Climate Change.”
St. Louis County police officer Benjamin Granda joins producer Alex Heuer to discuss how officers decide when or when not to chase down a suspect, and how attitudes toward chases have shifted recently.
Rep. Dean Plocher is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Des Peres Republican primarily talked about a potential merger between St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Plocher represents the 89th House District, which includes parts of Town & Country, Huntleigh, Des Peres and Country Life Acres. Plocher, an attorney by trade, is the chairman of the influential House General Laws Committee.
A group called Better Together unveiled a plan earlier this year to createa metro government overseeing St. Louis and St. Louis County. Among other things, the new entity would have a mayor, assessor, prosecutor and 33-person council government what is now the city and the county.
Organizers are seeking to get the Better Together plan before statewide voters in November 2020. They contend a constitutional amendment is necessary to implement key elements of the plan, such as consolidating police departments and municipal courts. But that decision has sparked bipartisan criticism, because it means that a city-county merger could happen if it passes statewide, even if St. Louis and St. Louis County residents vote against it.
Harris-Stowe State University and Missouri Humanities Council are commemorating some of the city’s past residents in a new Civil War panel titled “Long Roads to Freedom.” Delving into the topic's history are Gregory Wolk, Heritage Resources coordinator for Missouri Humanities Council, and Gregory Carr, Instructor in Speech and Theater at Harris Stowe State University.
St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin talks with Karen Kalish, founder and CEO of Home Works, The Teacher Home Visit Program; Lisa Pines, a school secretary at Vashon High School who has made over 80 home visits; and Diane Dymond, principal of Stix Early Childhood Center.
A conversation with Forest Park Forever’s horticulture superintendent Roman Fox about all things Forest Park in the springtime, including the best spots for a walk in the park and how his team maintains all of the plant life.
St. Louis activists have been applying the community-organizing skills they learned during Ferguson on the southern U.S. border to protest the Trump administration's border policies. St. Louis visual journalist Carolina Hidalgo recently returned from reporting on their actions and joins this conversation alongside activists Cathy "Mama Cat" Daniela and Elizabeth Vega.
stLouIST